Since Dinner for Schmucks is going to be released nationwide in the US tomorrow (30th July 2010), I thought I'd start a new thread where we can discuss our thoughts on the actual film after watching it and post reviews. The other Dinner for Schmucks thread can be found here and is still open for people to post general articles, interviews, pics, videos etc.

Reviews:

Salon

Best of all, perhaps, is New Zealand actor Jemaine Clement (of "Flight of the Conchords" and "Eagle vs. Shark") as Kieran, a smoldering, intensely self-involved artist who paints only giant canvases of himself pursuing various sexual and sensual activities. As Barry observes, when face to face with one of Kieran's paintings, "A very attractive man! He can fit a whole octopus into his mouth!"

Kieran, the octopus-eating, zebra-fisting artist (I'd better not explain that any further), may be unbelievably pompous, but at least he isn't a soulless corporate f*ckwad. When a whole series of Murphy's Law misunderstandings -- culminating, somehow, with Tim on his knees in a fancy restaurant, proposing to nutso Darla with a ring he intended for Julie -- leads Julie to run away to the immense sexual metaphor that is Kieran's goat ranch, I was all like, you go, girl! He's just not that into you! (Kieran, to Barry: "Have you ever lived among a herd of goats, for months at a time, as one of them?" Barry: "No." Kieran, mildly: "That surprises me.")

But Clement, best known for "Flight of the Conchords," is a total scream here, cut very much from the same skintight cloth as Russell Brand in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" and "Get Him to the Greek." It's as if he exists in his own movie â€” a deliciously weirder and infinitely more interesting one.

Jemaine Clement, meanwhile, is fantastic as a wild-man artist for whom Julie works, pure untamed id who justifies his decadence by calling it all part of "process" (pronounced with a long O, which for some reason makes it hilarious).

It has a lot of funny people going for it. The most valuable is Jemaine Clement, the sonorous New Zealander who slayed in HBO's "Flight of the Conchords" and who even managed to make a sustained Michael York impersonation pay off in the recent "Gentlemen Broncos." Here he plays a supporting role as an outlandishly pretentious artist who's catnip to the ladies, and whose self-regard is like a ZIP code unto itself

Meanwhile his (gorgeous) wife Julie (Stephanie Szostak) is a curator whose latest client is the eccentric Kieran, played hilariously by Jemaine Clement.

Flight of the Conchords star Jemaine Clement is the real highlight here, an eccentric artist obsessed with animals to the point of pseudo-bestiality. His off-the-wall character and outlandish responses make for a ridiculously entertaining time.

Running nearly two hours, when we finally get to the dinner, the film has nearly worn out its welcome. The unexpected absurdity that makes up the first two acts was an refreshing surprise, but when we start to expect it, things get dry. Thankfully, it doesnâ€™t last too long and the conclusion involving Clement, Carell, Rudd and Szostak is quite gratifying.

â€¦it's showcasing a few genuinely funny performances from Carrell, Clement, and Zach Galifiniakis, who plays Barry's co-worker. Carrell makes a handful of scenes exquisitely painful to watch, proving why his work on The Office attracted the filmmakers' attention. Galifianakis and Clement are likewise very funnyâ€¦

Jemaine Clement ("Flight of the Conchords"), waving his perfectly practiced pout like a flag, steals the movie as a self-important artist â€” a man who talks through his own heavy breathing, like he's entranced by his own allure.

Went to "Dinner for Schmucks" last night, and while it's not bad (some very funny performances, including two scene-stealing turns by "Flight of the Conchords" alums Jemaine Clement and Kristen Schaal), it suffers from a common problem in Hollywood comedy these days: It's too long.

I put spoilers in the title for now - those of you who are waiting for it to open overseas, you can decide whether or not to read it before you see it. US viewers, no need to spoiler tag, the title does that for you, unless you want to.

I'm back, and I already want to see it again. It was an extremely entertaining film. Steve Carell was absolutely brilliant as Barry, who was sort of a Forrest Gump/Napoleon Dynamite hybrid. Even though he had a knack for ruining everything he touched, he was so sweet and endearing that you couldn't stay mad at him. It's kind of sick, but I would have loved to see more of Barry's "mouseterpieces".

Paul Rudd was totally dreamy, and I swear he just keeps better and better looking with age. His eyes look amazing on the big screen. Speaking of amazing eyes, the woman who played his girlfriend had me hypnotized with her big brown eyes and perfect smile! Her cuteness was almost distracting, even to the most hot-blooded, man-loving woman! They really should have picked a different actress, so I wouldn't have looked at her so much.

And of course, Jemaine! Oh my holy crap, his role in this movie blows Gentlemen Broncos right out of the water. I thought he would be a schmuck, but he wasn't. If anything, he was an ultra cool, sexy, intimidating presence in Tim's (Paul Rudd's) life. You could even tell that the men in the movie were overwhelmed by his sensuality. Especially Barry. I'm usually put off by people as egotistical as Kieran, but his animal magnetism totally won me over! I kind of wish that Jemaine would grow his hair out like that. (And wear the same barely there outfits, but I'll take what I can get.) The long mane totally added to his sex appeal. And ladies, seriously, some of the outfits he wears during his "artistic process" leave so little to the imagination, it will put a permanent goofy grin on your face. (Speaking from experience here...) The reviews are correct, Jemaine was a scene stealer, and proved yet again that he is indeed a fine actor!

So all in all, I give the movie 4 out of 5 stars. I take away one star, because some parts of the movie are a little over the top goofy, and because there were some parts that I felt could have been left out. Darla? WTF? It was a little long, but thankfully, Jemaine was interspersed throughout. Do stay for the end credits, because there is a tiny bit more to see at the very very end. (Not Jemaine related, but you might like it.)

Also, I felt that the movie was really pushing the envelope of it's PG-13 rating. Call me a prude, but there was enough sexuality in it for me to recommend seeing it first before taking young teens. There were several little kids in attendance, which I found disturbing, but I'm hoping that the crude jokes went over their heads. You may disagree with me, but that is my opinion.

I actually thought Lucy Punch did a great job as psycho stalker Darla. Her character added to the conflict between Tim (Paul Rudd) and his girlfriend's relationship. I didn't know she was British and putting on an accent for the film until I saw one of the interviews. And yes, I think Stephanie Szostak is super cute in this movie.

James Bobin: “It’s like a five-year-old and a three-year-old. Jemaine’s the five-year-old, and Bret’s the three-year-old. They’re both wrong, but the five-year-old thinks he’s right.”

Oh yes, Darla was important to the plot, especially the misunderstanding in the restaurant. I just thought that the scene with Barry in the apartment went on way too long. I stopped laughing after the first couple minutes, and just wished it would end. There were a few other moments that I felt were too long though, so it's not really Darla's fault. I had no idea she was British either. She did make a very convincing psycho.

Stephane Szostak is so cute in this movie, I agree with Vanessa. Ya know what? She reminds me of a younger Juliette Binoche.

And Lucy did a great job with the movie...fun! And isn't it strange how natural the American accent sounds when done by a British actor, but the British accents sound so phoney when done by American actors...IMHO

ItsAllRyche wrote:And Lucy did a great job with the movie...fun! And isn't it strange how natural the American accent sounds when done by a British actor, but the British accents sound so phoney when done by American actors...IMHO

I have to say there are some Britsh actors who nail an American accent so well. I think getting an English accent can be hard as most people seem to have to acheive the RP type (plummy, bit posh sounding which is often not really how they would sound) rather than a regional accent. Although they would probably be way harder. I'm mostly disappointed hearing an American actor doing a British/English accent.

Ewan McGregor can't do any accent well. Not even his own. LOL! But he's so charming that I don't care.

What a great character for Jemaine, and he really underplayed it! Which made it funnier, because it was so matter of fact! And yes, big ups for the wardrobe.

My girlfriends and I loved the movie. It could have lost about 15 minutes, but other than that it was pretty excellent. And those mouse dioramas!?!?!??!!!! Amazing. No wonder Steve Carell wants one for his house.

First of all, how could that Film Stage reviewer miss the fact that Julie is not Tim's wife, she's not even his fiance, she's his girlfriend, and that Tim's proposal to Julie runs throughout the movie, and features once in a hysterically funny scene? How can you be a reviewer and miss such a crucial point of a movie? Duh. So whatever this person says (except for the rave about Jemaine) must be taken with a huge grain of salt.

I loved the movie. I was glad it was not only very funny, but very touching. I adored Steve Carell - those thick glasses made those blue eyes so sad an soulful, yet sometimes so funny. His performance was a tour de force, flitting effortlessly from a hysterically quirky taxidermist to a sadly sympathetic, faithful friend. I'll be surprised if he doesn't get a Golden Globe nomination. Paul Rudd was his perfect foil, but getting his full share of laughs as well. And then there's Jemaine. The reviews were right - he steals all of his scenes, we see lots of him in every sense of the word, and I admit I was truly smitten with long-haired Kieran Vollard!After his first scene, I turned to SlutAngel and said, "I know I'm seeing this again!! " Obviously by the end of the movie I had said it millions more times! I could go on gushing about his masterful performance, but there are only 24 hours in a day, and many ladies here who will give him his due much better than I. And you know me, I'm not usually a swooner. All in all, a hysterically enjoyable film with a heart... and Jemaine! Who could ask for anything more?

I liked the movie. Jemaine was fantastic. And goat Jemaine was my favorite. The little things in his performance really got me. Like when he pops up onto his "hooves" to leave the scene... I could barely take it all in, so I guess I'll just have to go see it again. I've giggled about bits of this movie for days, and when I listen to music I will henceforth challenge myself to stop the song at a spot that totally changes it's meaning.

nonchalant obsession wrote:The little things in his performance really got me. Like when he pops up onto his "hooves" to leave the scene...

That was so funny. And his little springy jog down the hall back to the studio where his bird ladies are waiting, lol.

I've giggled about bits of this movie for days, and when I listen to music I will henceforth challenge myself to stop the song at a spot that totally changes it's meaning.

"You may say I'm a dreamer....but I'm not."

Hee hee! Steve Carell was genius in this. I have a whole new level of respect for him after seeing this movie. And yeah Nancy I loved how well Jemaine underplayed Kieran, lol. I agree that it could have been about 15 minutes shorter. Unless those 15 minutes involved Jemaine.

It goes without saying that my fav parts were any & all scenes that included Jemaine. Gazing at him on that gigantor movie screen was heaven.

What I really liked and cared about in the movie was the friendship Steve Carrell's Barry developed with Tim. Barry's intentions were pure & Tim not so much at first. There were some really sweet moments. Tim proves that he does have a conscience. Barry showed true loyalty to Tim in trying to win over the crowd to save his job & possibly Julie. Those moments were the best for me. Steve Carrell played Barry as such a sweet and lonely man.

The actress who played Tim's girlfriend is cute as a button, gorgeous smile & eyes. Sorry to say that I never felt any on screen chemisty between Tim & Julie. Their scenes together didn't convince me that they were a couple in love. So I didn't care much about their relationship. Paul Rudd was convincing as a guy who loved her and wanted her back. Since Tim was breaking his morals (wrongfully inviting Barry to this dinner) to win over Julie by getting this job advancement it would have been nice to believe that they were a couple. I am not doing a very good job explaining this. Sorry.

The movie was very entertaining. I laughed a lot. Don't get me wrong. I just found trouble with a few things in the movie. I was also not so keen on some of the Zach G scenes. They did go on too long.

I can't wait to see it again. Jemaine looked so gorgeous & in that end scene that he had he is perfection.

It is doing so well at the box office, I hope he makes oodles of money just so that it affords him the time & personal space to work on the projects he really cares about.